Junior Denae Antoine is one of the star forwards for NC State women’s soccer, starting in every game so far this season and consistently working to become the best athlete she could be. Despite multiple injuries over many years, her dedication and hard work brings her closer to the peak physical condition she has always strived for.

Starting at the beginning

Antoine started her first three years at University of California, Berkeley. Antoine made the decision to stay close to home early in her high school career. 

She suffered an injury her senior year of high school that went into her freshman year of college, missing the entire first season at UCB. Her injuries continued and stifled her second season, only playing in three games.

“I played in the spring a little bit, but not the fall season,” Antoine said. “I never really got a chance to get into any type of rhythm.” 

As a redshirt sophomore, Antoine played in 18 games for UCB and hit the game-winning goal for two different key games. She even started in three of those games, yet still needed to recover from those injuries.

Road to recovery

Antoine did get to play in most of the games during her redshirt sophomore year over at UCB but still had some more recovering to do that she took to NC State.

“I wasn’t where I needed to be or wanted to be,” Antoine said. “When I got here, everything that [women’s soccer head coach Tim Santoro] said was true.”

Santoro and athletic trainer Devyn Wilson informed Antoine of their plan to help her recover and stay in peak physical condition. This was appealing to her during the transferring process, and she has utilized those resources since.

“Devyn has been my best friend…she’s just making sure I’m ready to play,” Antoine said. “If I have a little nag or my knees are bothering me or something, all I have to do is let her know.” 

Antoine still believes there’s some recovering left but is happy with how NC State has handled her injuries. Wilson and Santoro’s treatments have transferred to the starter’s on-field performance.

A fresh start

For her junior season, Antoine transferred to NC State. She has started every game for the Pack so far, scoring in two of them. Her latest goal was against Campbell, the only goal in the game, to win it 1-0. 

“I wanted to have a fresh start, come to a place where I can make an impact, make a difference,” Antoine said.

The team’s only loss this season came against Wake Forest, which went into double overtime before the Demon Deacons finally scored. Despite the loss, Antoine thinks it was one of the Pack’s best.

“I’m excited to build off of this past game against Wake,” Antoine said. “We obviously didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was the most complete game that we’ve played.”

Antoine took one shot that missed the net in this game, but played 72 minutes of the 109-minute game. 

Leadership at NC State

Traveling from the west coast all the way to North Carolina was difficult for Antoine. A completely different atmosphere, especially during a year impacted by COVID-19, was hard to adjust to.

“Initially, I was kind of nervous coming into a new environment,” Antoine said. “I didn’t want to step on any toes or people.”

Leading a team is nothing new to Antoine. During her days on club teams, she was a team captain for seven years, leading herself and her teams to many championships and victories.

“Just be yourself,” Antoine said. “Being an upperclassman, taking the experiences that I’ve had at a different university and helping the underclassman.”

Off-the-field work

As if juggling a new area, recovering from injuries and starting for the soccer team is not enough, Antoine also puts great emphasis on her studies and other activities. While she was at UCB, she volunteered at homeless shelters, giving back to the community and going above and beyond sports.

Antoine also focuses heavily on academics and getting to know her teammates. She believes this helps team chemistry and success on the field.

“Everyone here is very focused on their academics,” Antoine said. “Me and my roommates are always studying with each other, letting each other know when there’s upcoming tests, things like that.”

The women’s soccer team has three more games left in April before the playoffs. The team’s next game will be against Duke, Friday, April 2, followed by a nonconference game against Georgia Sunday, April 11. The season will conclude with a neutral field game against Boston College Saturday, April 17.